CAG Report Exposes Critical Gaps in Delhi's Healthcare Infrastructure

A recent CAG report highlights systemic shortcomings in Delhi's healthcare infrastructure, revealing staff shortages, inadequate facilities, and mismanagement of health services. Despite significant budget allocations, essential services lag, requiring urgent reforms to meet the capital's growing healthcare demands.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) recent report casts a harsh spotlight on Delhi's health infrastructure inadequacies, pointing to crucial issues like staffing shortages, insufficient facilities, and ineffective healthcare management.

Presented to the Delhi Legislative Assembly on February 28, 2025, the '2025 CAG Report on Performance Audit on Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services' alerts authorities to worrying trends. The audit covers secondary and tertiary hospitals from 2016 to 2022, uncovering a 21% deficit in staff within Delhi's Health and Family Welfare Department.

Further findings describe critical shortages of specialists, essential medicines, and necessary hospital equipment. Despite budgets, significant holdups in drug procurement and construction projects exacerbate the situation. These findings underscore the urgent necessity for systemic reform to bridge these gaps, ensuring the city's healthcare system can meet growing demands.